Seven care homes tied to Martinos cited for violations since November
Three of the homes — Rosslyn, Cathmar and one in Niagara Falls — have been hit with orders to comply
At least seven retirement homes and residential care facilities associated with the family behind the Royal Crest Lifecare bankruptcy have been found in violation of provincial or city regulations within the last six months.
Three of the homes — Rosslyn Retirement Residence on King Street East, Cathmar Manor on Catharine Street North and Greycliff Manor in Niagara Falls — have been hit with registrar’s orders in the past four weeks by the province’s governing body for retirement homes.
The three homes are connected with the families of brothers Aldo Martino and the late John Martino, owners of the Royal Crest Lifecare chain of care homes which collapsed into bankruptcy in 2003.
Another four retirement homes and residential care facilities connected to the Martino family — Dundas Retirement Place, Montgomery Retirement Home, Victoria Manor I and Victoria Manor II — have been found in violation of numerous regulations based on inspections carried out either by the city or the governing Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA).
The Rosslyn home was the site of a horrific COVID-19 outbreak last week that sent more than 60 residents to hos
pital and emptied the facility. Twenty staff members became infected and four of the Rosslyn’s residents have died.
The city said Tuesday it is conducting urgent inspections of all homes associated with the Martino family. The inspections are expected to be done by Friday.
Representatives of the Martino family did not respond to requests for comment made Wednesday.
On May 15, the RHRA issued a registrar’s order against the Rosslyn home, stating the facility was in contravention of the Retirement Homes Act section “pertaining to infection prevention and control and failure to protect residents from neglect.”
The order states Rosslyn “is not permitted to admit new residents to the home until the licensee has retained a regulated health professional (RHP).”
On May 14, the city’s associate medical officer of health also issued an order against the Rosslyn home requiring a number of immediate steps be taken to address alleged deficiencies related to screening, outbreak response plans, protective equipment and staff training.
In the Ontario legislature Wednesday, NDP MPP Sandy Shaw said the owners of the company that operates the Rosslyn “have a sketchy history.”
Shaw, who represents Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas called on Doug Ford’s government to take action “to make sure that this private, for-profit corporation and others like it are not able to hurt and take advantage of seniors.”
“This is the stuff of nightmares,” Shaw said during question period.
In a statement to The Spectator, the RHRA said it is “deeply concerned” about the situation at the Rosslyn home.
“Our first priority is the safety and protection of the residents, which is why we took swift action in collaboration with Hamilton local public health unit to safeguard the residents,” stated Kathryn Chopp, spokesperson for the RHRA. “We are in daily contact with the management of Rosslyn Retirement Residence to ensure their compliance with the May 15 registrar’s orders.” On March 5, the RHRA issued a registrar’s order against Cathmar Manor that the Catharine Street home was in contravention of pest control regulations due to a bedbug infestation.
An inspection by the RHRA on Jan. 13 found Cathmar in violation of several regulations related to cleanliness, pest control and procedures for dealing with complaints about the care of residents.
The same issues of noncompliance had been found during an RHRA inspection in November.
A city public health inspection on March 10 found Cathmar not in compliance for food quality and proper nutrition.
On April 24, the RHRA issued a registrar’s order against Greycliff Manor, located on Lundy’s Lane, for contravening regulations related to pest control, medication administration and behaviour management of residents who pose a risk to themselves or others in the home.
Between Jan. 17 and Feb. 12, the Niagara Falls home was inspected three times by the RHRA and a total of 20 violations were found.
The RHRA conducted an inspection of Dundas Retirement Place on Nov. 27 and found five violations related to emergency plans and the plans of care for residents.
The authority conducted inspections of Montgomery Retirement Home on Main Street East on Jan. 14 and Nov. 7, 2019 and found more than a dozen violations in total relating to issues such as infection prevention and control, emergency plans, risk of falls and behaviour management.
The city’s public health department inspected Victoria Manor I and II on Feb. 18 and found violations related to the storage of medications, food quality and nutrition.
The RHRA said it’s aware the Rosslyn home is owned by a corporation “that has connections to several homes in the Hamilton and surrounding area.”
“We can confirm that the RHRA has been engaged with the other associated homes in the area including on-site inspections of the various locations as part of the COVID-19 response efforts,” Chopp stated. “Local public health units are leading activities as they relate to COVID-19 infection prevention and control.”
The collapse of the Royal Crest chain was the largest bankruptcy of long-term care homes in Ontario’s history.
At the time of its bankruptcy, Royal Crest had $180 million in liabilities owing and left taxpayers on the hook for $18 million.
Royal Crest and the Martino brothers were the subjects of an extensive Spectator investigation in 2003 and 2004.
The investigation showed Ontario’s health ministry had provided more than $500 million to Royal Crest in a decade leading up to the chain’s collapse, but the ministry hadn’t conducted its own audit of the company in the three years prior to the bankruptcy.